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Do You Hate Being Called an "IT Guy?"
An anonymous reader writes "The phrase 'IT' is so overused, I'm not sure what it means any more. OK, maybe it's an ego thing, but I spent a lot of years in grad school, lots of years getting good at creating software, and lots of years getting good at creating technical products and I don't want the same label as the intern who fixes windoze. I'm looking at a tech management job at a content company that is trying to become a software company, and they refer to everything about software development, data center operations, and desktop support as 'IT.' I'd like to tell the CEO before I take the job that we have to stop referring to all these people as 'IT people' or I'm not going to be able to attract and retain the top-tier talent that is required. Am I just being petty? Should I just forget it? Change it slowly over time? These folks are really developing products, but we don't normally call software creators 'product developers.' Just call them the 'Tech Department' or the 'Engineering Deptartment?'"
Did the submitter forget his Twitter account password? Is his navel so big that he can't help but gaze into it?
I'm a software developer. In my experience, "IT" is a term used by non-engineers as a catch-all for "that which my English degree failed to equip me to understand". Kind of like when they say "microchip".
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Just call them the 'Tech Department' or the 'Engineering Deptartment?'" [sic]
The spelling Deptartment just called. They need more budget.
Do you or your partner snore? - Visit www.snoring.com.au
the job will be out-sourced soon, anyway.
IT guys are the scumbags who put desktop remote control software on my suse workstation. They are the reason I keep rootkits (ie, system rescue CDs) in my desk draw, and why most of the guys I directly work with run gentoo.
These are the people who solemnly told me they would improve my WAN latency issue by compressing the link. When I said that won't work they said they could always put two compressors in series.
When they replaced my Dell desktop with an equally crappy ASUS or something they replaced the Dell branded logitech keyboard and mouse with an ASUS branded logitech keyboard and mouse on the grounds that using the wrong type of peripheral might cause "incompatibilities".
Since they stopped supporting POP and SMTP I now have to use outlook inside windows inside vmware, except there used to be outlook web access which stopped working last weekend so I logged a call with the helpless desk and they got the whole story (running firefox on suse, etc) then they had to get me to give them the version of IE I had there (stuffed if I know why). So they didn't fix it (Exchange server cant authenticate me for some reason) and escalated it a few times then the second or third level guy called me back and asked if I had thought of restarting firefox. When I said yes he asked if I had restarted my system (said so, I had an import or ten on the go at the time). This after I had given them the error message which came back from exchange.
I wish I could sack these idiots. In theory they work for my organisation you know, but they seem to have their hooks in us.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Oh, you're in IT.
Sorry you don't have a shiny title to distinguish yourself from the lowly CPU-fixers and computer janitors, but there you go.
You're in IT. Face it. You're in IT. No way around it, might as well say it with me: You're in IT.
"Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
"Don't call me IT Guy, IT Buddy. Don't call me IT Buddy, IT Friend."
Hagrin.com
Hey, there's nothing wrong with ego. I, for one, always wanted to be called The High Priest Of The Sun. But then the barstards switched from Sun to IBM servers :p
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
Try doing a PhD concerned with the hardware implementation of pretty hardcore mathematics for wireless communications and have someone refer what you do to be "IT". Without trying to sound like some form of zealot, the best thing I did was switch to a Mac. Not because it is a superior environment or anything, but because when someone has a Windows problem I feign ignorance and say "sorry, not sure, I don't use Windows these days".
That would be a good start. Then all you'd have to do is get them to understand the difference between a database and a network.
yup, specially when the client realizes I am a woman, not a guy :)
What do you mean ?
John Doe,
Senior Artificial Intelligence Architect, Coordinator, MSc, PMP, PO,
CBAP, PhD, MBA, Senior Rocket Scientist.
Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
Some of these people think the server is a "CPU" or a "Hard Drive". I get calls where they say "the internet is down" because they somehow deleted the IE icon. They don't even know how to use the address bar in their browser, they type the url into one of the 10 search toolbars they've installed. You face the wrath of god when you delete their Weather Bug crapware. "my weather doesn't work, the it guy broke it"
If I talk Java or C++ their eyes glaze over as they pretend to know what I am talking about. Never underestimate the stupidity of people. I say that as a stupid person.
Daddy, why is there a woman in Slashdot?
Wow, my brother has a similar problem. He is a psychologist, and his wife thinks he shouldn't have to interact with anyone the moment he gets home.
Some people encrypt by using rot-13 twice. I prefer the more secure method of using rot-1 a total of twenty six times.
Except for us Prius driving Austin Texans. We prefer to be called "star child". Now pass the aromatherapy candle.
haha! You're just a software engineer? I'm a supreme senior software analyst advisor head of the developmental engineering analytics division!
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
People call me a tool all the time.
He wasn't really complaining, he was just boasting about being a male slashdot poster who's actually married.
>There is a reason why we don't refer to screwdrivers, circular saws and sanding machines all as "hammers".
All tools are hammers, except screwdrivers and they're chisels.
Way to keep it weird. ;-)
As a native Texan (now living in Berkeley) I have to admit that my childhood conception of New England included every state north of Georgia.
Posterity, my posterior.
/ now they can all just get off my lawn
I'm not anti-social, I'm anti-idiot.
Obligatory IT Crowd Reference:
Roy: "We are just a bunch of drugeons to them. Drugeons I tell you.."
Moss: "And if drugeons was a word, that's what we would be."
Theda Bara was the IT girl, and she didn't mind the title.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Only IT people and drug dealers refer to their customers as "users."